People attend a vigil in Paris on Tuesday following the devastating fire that destroyed much of the beloved Notre Dame Cathedral.

Kamil Zihnioglu
/ AP

Originally published on April 20, 2019 1:08 pm

Updated at 5:20 p.m. ET

A day after flames leaped through Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris sparking fears the beloved building could be consumed, Parisians sang and prayed in processions through the streets and held vigils Tuesday evening close to the church constructed more than eight centuries ago.

The cathedral stood blackened with much of its roof gone, its spire collapsed and charred rubble inside, but it remained standing, its main structure and two towers spared.

People gather across from Notre Dame Cathedral in the aftermath of a fire that devastated the cathedral.

The leader of the Catholic Church put into words the duality of the feeling Tuesday: the pain of the loss paired with the promise of rebirth.

"Today we unite in prayer with the people of France, as we wait for the sorrow inflicted by the serious damage to be transformed into hope with reconstruction," Pope Francis tweeted.

Today we unite in prayer with the people of France, as we wait for the sorrow inflicted by the serious damage to be transformed into hope with reconstruction. Holy Mary, Our Lady, pray for us. #NotreDame

In an address to the nation on Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron said that Notre Dame will be rebuilt "more beautiful than ever" and that he wants to see it done within five years. "We can do it and we will come together," he said.

Junior Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that while immediate work is needed to secure the building, "the structure is holding up well, despite signs of fragility, necessitating security work."

Construction first began on the Catholic cathedral in 1163. For 850 years, the house of God was a fixture of the Paris skyline and so it also became a house of man, "part of our French destiny," as Macron tweeted Monday.

Notre Dame's destiny was in question through the night as hundreds of firefighters worked to put out the blaze. They managed to contain the flames early Tuesday morning local time.

Fire damage is visible on the exterior of Notre Dame Cathedral. The building's facade and towers are expected to be saved.

Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

Debris are seen inside Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, Tuesday. Firefighters were able to salvage a number of the cathedral's most treasured relics.

Christophe Petit Tesson / AP

By midmorning, the fire was fully extinguished, and an investigation into the cause began in earnest.

Paris public prosecutor Rémy Heitz told reporters that the fire was discovered in the attic's framework and is believed to have been accidental. Investigators in the early stages of a probe, he said, have detected no signs of arson. But Heitz cautioned the investigation will be "long" and "complex" as dozens of investigators work to uncover what happened. Part of their job is interviewing workers who were engaged in a multi-million-dollar restoration project of the cathedral before the fire broke out around 6 p.m. local time Monday.

Nobody was killed. Officials said two police officers and one firefighter were slightly injured.

The interior of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is seen on Monday. Hundreds of millions of euros have already been pledged to restore the historic masterpiece.

Christophe Petit Tesson / AFP/Getty Images

But the toll taken on the priceless works of art within the cathedral, including paintings, tapestries, statuary and famed stained-glass windows, could be worse.

A damage assessment is underway with national, local and church authorities working together, UNESCO said in a statement. Notre Dame was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.

Smoke-damaged paintings were being shipped to the Louvre Museum for restoration. Riester said the full resources of the French state were being mobilized in the rehabilitation effort.

In a remarkable boon, workers had already removed 16 religious statues attached to the spire as part of the cathedral's restoration, the first time in a century the statues had come down, reports The Associated Press.

Father Fournier

The Fire Department Chaplain

Is the man who saved the Blessed Sacrament and Crown of Thorns from the fire

Notre Dame has survived other disasters over the centuries. Even as the monarchy fell, Notre Dame withstood extensive damage inflicted during the French Revolution.

Notre Dame is one of the world’s great treasures, and we’re thinking of the people of France in your time of grief. It’s in our nature to mourn when we see history lost – but it’s also in our nature to rebuild for tomorrow, as strong as we can. pic.twitter.com/SpMEvv1BzB

And it has drawn visitors in droves. The cathedral says it welcomes 13 million a year, an average of 30,000 people a day.

Firefighters spray water as they work to extinguish a fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris early on Tuesday. A huge fire that devastated Notre Dame Cathedral is "under control", the Paris fire brigade said after firefighters spent hours battling the flames.

Zakaria Abdelkafi / AFP/Getty Images

As people around the world watched as the cathedral went up in flames, those who had gazed upon it in person posted their memories and images on social media.

They have also been invited to contribute to the cathedral's rebuilding. Several GoFundMe pages have sprung up.

I’d like to say words of comfort and solidarity with the French nation, also as citizen of Gdańsk, 90% destroyed and burnt, later rebuilt. You will also rebuild your cathedral!From Strasbourg, French capital of the EU, I call on all 28 States to take part in this task.#NotreDame

European Council President Donald Tusk called on all 28 members of the European Union to join in on the effort.

President Trump offered condolences to France, reaffirming the alliance between the two countries.

"We remember with grateful hearts the tolling of Notre Dame's bells on September 12, 2001, in solemn recognition of the tragic September 11th attacks on American soil," the White House said in a statement. "Those bells will sound again. We stand with France today and offer our assistance in the rehabilitation of this irreplaceable symbol of Western civilization. Vive la France!"

Macron said in his address Tuesday that the fire can be turned into an opportunity to come together. "We will act and we will succeed."

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Notre Dame Cathedral, one of the world's most famous churches, erupted in flames Monday in Paris, losing its spire but remaining otherwise largely intact after firefighters worked through the night to contain the fire.

This is true both literally and figuratively. The Gothic cathedral is there on Île de la Cité, the island in the Seine in between Paris' Left and Right banks, convenient and inescapable for the estimated 13 million people who visit it every year. Just outside, a Point Zero marker measures the distance to everything else in France. And Notre Dame is there in more than 850 years of French history: in paintings, daguerreotypes, songs, novels, war photos, awed selfies.